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Finnish Labour Minister Arto Saartonen (NCP) has confirmed that the government will proceed with a proposed law that would put people with work-related residence permits at risk of deportation if they do not find a new job quickly after losing their job, despite widespread opposition to the changes.
However, Satonen told Yle on Wednesday that in certain cases and for certain experts, this period could be extended to six months.
The public consultation period on the government’s proposed three-month unemployment rule closed on Friday, with about 120 responses received by afternoon. All but two submissions rejected the government’s proposal for a three-month or six-month limit for foreign workers.
Respondents repeatedly criticised these time limits as “completely inadequate” and warned that the legislation would have a negative impact on Finland’s international reputation and its ability to attract skilled workers.
Government bill draws widespread attention
Critics say the proposed law is part of a wide range of reforms that make life for immigrants in Finland increasingly uncertain and under surveillance. Moniheli, Finland’s largest multicultural network, which represents around 160 member organisations, is one of the groups opposing the government’s bill.
“Currently, Finland is developing a regulatory framework that treats every immigrant as a threat or a commodity to be discarded after use. Such a communication approach does not make Finland an attractive country for foreign experts,” Moniheli wrote in a statement. statement Oppose the bill.
Some argue that the proposal is politically biased and does not take into account Finland’s long-term interests. Some worry that Finland’s image and attractiveness have been seriously damaged since the government introduced the plan.
The University of Helsinki noted that the proposal also indirectly damaged the university’s reputation as an employer and affected people’s perception of Finland as a place to work and live.
Respondents generally expressed concern that Finland could not afford such development in a highly competitive global landscape.
Satonen: Aims to increase attractiveness
On Thursday, Satonen published an op-ed defending the need for labour migration in Finland and encouraging employers to seize the opportunities presented by international recruitment.
“Our goal is to increase Finland’s visibility and attractiveness for international experts and to make it easier and more ethical for companies to find skilled workers,” Satonen wrote.
He stressed that key to this effort is the “Finland Jobs” programme, which brings together experts from Business Finland and the Finnish Development and Administrative Service (Keha).
However, Business Finland expressed concern that the government’s actions had a negative impact on Finland’s image. “International experts consider this policy to be a sign of lack of attention and Finland has no intention of keeping them,” Business Finland said.
International experts currently in Finland play an important role in conveying the message to other potential talents around the world. “If they don’t feel welcome, no amount of image work can make up for it,” the agency warns.
Three months is not enough
Almost every consultation respondent agreed that the three-month, and sometimes even six-month, time limit was simply not enough to find a new job.
The proposed restriction was also seen as technically problematic because it did not take into account non-compete agreements common in many industries, which often last longer than three months.
The City of Tampere also pointed out a conflict between the three-month rule and existing employer obligations, which require a re-employment period of four to six months, depending on the number of years of previous employment.
The government has also been criticised for failing to provide evidence or research to show how long it actually takes different professional groups to find new jobs.
Many respondents believe that there is no need to set such a tight time frame. A longer grace period may not bring about significant additional costs to the state in terms of employee social security.
“In general, immigrants want to start working as quickly as possible. This is reflected concretely in the integration plans drawn up jointly by the TE employment offices and the municipal social services,” said the district welfare services of the Southern Österbotten region.
A report by the VATT economic institute included in the government proposal also noted that only 1% of all people holding a residence permit for work had been unemployed for more than three months.
Foreign workers face growing risk of exploitation
The City of Tampere has urged the government to address the risk of labour exploitation as part of legislative reforms.
“The draft itself points to the risk that foreign workers may be forced to accept inferior working conditions or wages in order to remain in the country,” the city warned.
Victim Support Finland (Riku), an organization that supports victims of crime, also said the law was likely to increase illegal dismissals of foreign workers.
“This will deprive many people of the opportunity to challenge possible unlawful dismissal and seek compensation. If an employee challenges an unlawful dismissal, the process almost always takes more than three months,” the group said.
Amnesty International warned that the regulation could increase the number of illegal immigrants. Deportation is particularly problematic for those who have settled in Finland for a long time, especially those who have family or other ties to Finland.
One aspect of the bill has broad support
One aspect of the government’s proposals has broad support – expanding work rights to allow migrants to change jobs in specifically listed industries facing labour shortages.
However, the City of Helsinki urged the government to take regional differences into account when implementing the policy.
The city also noted that six of the eight occupations listed in the draft law require statutory qualification requirements to work in those fields.
“When a person who comes to Finland for work is granted a residence permit for work in a specific profession, it is extremely unlikely that they will meet the qualification and competence requirements for another profession within the validity period of their residence permit,” the city said.
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